Don’t Give up the Ship

Our forefathers battled an oppressive government to establish our nation. Now it's our time to fight to ensure democracy survives.

“Surrender of General Burgoyne” by John Trumbull | Architect of the Capitol

Memorial Day has never been a day of celebration. For me, it’s a day of reflection on the sacrifices men and women of this country have made and continue to make in the name of freedom and democracy. This year, Memorial Day is hitting differently.

Our country is under attack from within. The Constitution is being actively dismantled by a man who loves himself and his personal wealth more than he loves the nation he has sworn to serve and protect. Good American citizens are looking for exit plans and applying for citizenship to other countries. People are scared, they are exhausted, they feel helpless, and they are angry. That’s not new in our nation’s history.

Two-hundred-and-forty-nine years ago, our nation was founded in the most unlikely of circumstances. Our founding fathers were tired of unfair taxation without representation in their government. They were sick of punitive actions taken to punish the colonies for standing up to the Crown. They were fed up with the British government restricting trade and expansion. Our forefathers didn’t ask for freedom; they demanded it.

Imagine being colonists — nobodies to the British government — with few resources and limited military prowess and deciding to take on the largest empire in the world at the time in the name of liberty. What a terrifying and brave thing to do! They were outnumbered, out-financed, out-armed, and facing certain death. They were called by the warm glow of freedom that still calls us today and they won because what the colonists were fighting for meant more to them than it did to the Crown.

Less than 100 years later, in April 1861, our young country found itself once again at a crossroads. Military recruitment soared as both the Union and the Confederacy fought for their versions of what they wanted America to look like. Neighbors fought neighbors. Families were divided.

The United States continued because regular American citizens just like us decided to fight for a more perfect union. Many were killed by their own countrymen for defending and preserving the promises of a democratic republic where all men are free, as guaranteed by the Constitution.

Our nation has survived wars that should have ended the Great Experiment. We have survived famine. We have survived poverty. We have survived natural disasters, wars, and terrorist attacks from foreign and domestic actors. With every crossroad we have faced, with every tragedy we have endured, with every mistake, every success, and every life lost in battle, we have emerged stronger, wiser, and better. We are, indeed, strongest in the places where we have broken and healed.

By world history standards, the United States is still a very young country. She is still in her awkward teenage years. We must guide her through this time of turmoil so that she can rise to her destiny. But, in order for our country to rise to meet her destiny, we must also rise to meet ours.

Now is not the time to run from a difficult fight. Now is not the time to give up on the promise of America. Right now we are being called to fight. We are called to stand up to an oppressive government just like our nation’s founders. We are called to continue the quest towards a more perfect union.

Things are incredibly scary right now. It’s time to dig deep. It’s time to remember to look for the potential of this beautiful nation our forefathers saw. It’s time to consider why our own ancestors came to the United States to begin with. It’s once again time for us to earn what so many American soldiers have given their lives for since the very inception of our country — the sacred title, right, and blessings of freedom, liberty, and justice for all.

This Memorial Day, I implore you to reflect on what it has taken to get us here in just 249 short years. Consider how far we have come and how many of our own countrymen lay in military cemeteries across the world as a monument and tribute to the tenacity of the American spirit. Giving up on our nation now is an affront to the sacrifices that were made for you to even be able to make that choice. She's still worth standing up for. She’s still worth fighting for. She’s still worth dying for. No one man or administration can ever change that. Don’t give up the ship!

Ryan Wiggins is Chief of Staff of The Lincoln Project. Subscribe to her A More Perfect Union Substack and follow her on X at @Ryan_N_Wiggins and on BlueSky at @Ryan-N-Wiggins.bsky.social.